Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
by XeroRyder
Summary: My take on one of the greatest N64 games of all time, in which Dark Matter conquers Ripple Star in a surprise attack, and one fairy, in an attempt to save the Power Crystal, joins forces with the pink hero Kirby to combat the menace throughout the worlds.
1. The Day the Darkness Came

_Remember when I made a huge deal about how KToDR contained such huge spoilers? Well, this is why. If you're reading this, I'm pretty sure you know the plot of Kirby 64, but nevertheless, I'm presenting you with _my _retelling. There are already a few out there, but this one should shed some light on interesting things… anyway, what am I talking for? Get on with it!_

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Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

Chapter 1 - The Day the Darkness Came

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Ripple Star was a small, peaceful planet, located in the ring of Stars known as Dreamland, a place where a species of fairies lived and thrived, a place they could call home.

That was before the day the darkness came.

One moment, the town square had been filled with fairies flitting about in their usual business, and in the next the dark cloud ad covered the expanse of the sky, creeping over the blueness like a microscopic life form absorbing another. And destroying it.

Ribbon watched in horror as the sky completely blackened. What... what was going on? In all the books she'd read on Ripple Star's history... nothing like this had ever happened. She'd never seen anything like this black mass before.

Could it be for a special event? Yes, yes, it was possible... fairies had limited magical abilities, so it might just be an impromptu celebration the queen had scheduled... for something...

Ribbon cleared her head of these ridiculous thoughts. That was a completely 'stupid' idea. Why would she even think of something like that? The queen didn't like darkness, at least not on a scale this massive.

But then that still posed the question: what the heck was going on?

The pink haired fairy watched as all around her, her friends began to panic. There were shouts and yells from a gathering crowd, all of them pointing to the black expanse above.

"What's that?"

"What's happening?"

"Are we all gonna die?"

Ribbon didn't want to answer any of these questions at the moment, for the simple reason that she could not. Being one of the royal attendants meant she had access to the castle library, but even she, a bookworm, at times, had no idea what to make of the situation at hand.

She did, however, grasp the general idea of the _other_ situation, meaning when dark tendrils started extending from the main cloud above and forming a fog that headed toward the ground surprisingly quickly, heading directly for the large group of fairies. Only one thought went through her head at that point: Fly. _Fast._

And she did just that. For once in her life her wings seemed to be fully cooperating, and they fluttered madly to boost her away faster than her little legs could have ever hoped to carry her. She barely caught a horrific glimpse of the fog leaping up like a leopard and swallowing sole of her friends, but she kept going, with the fear that, if she stopped, it would undoubtedly catch up with her too.

She nearly ran into all the other panicking fairies as they frantically flitted about, but she paid no mind. She had a destination, a mission, one of the utmost importance.

She needed to make sure the queen was unharmed.

Ribbon practically darted through the castle gates, which were, fortunately, the slightest bit open, whether they were previously left that way or because the dark smog, which was now filling the air at an alarmingly fast pace, had forced them open.

Her muscles were tiring but she did not stop. She swiftly crossed the courtyard, reaching the main castle's doors in seconds flat. The moment she got there, she was forced to halt.

They were closed.

Ribbon landed briefly to rest her wings, putting a hand to her chin in thought. She couldn't simple heave the heavy wooden slabs open - even the queen's large, powerful guards needed a crank to do that. Taking a moment to think, she began tapping her foot on the ground impatiently, knowing the cloud behind her could start rushing toward her any second.

With a snap of her fingers, an idea came to her. Despite her wing muscles' protest, she took to the air again, flying up higher than she ever had before. On the top floor of the tall castle, there was a very, very small glassless window on the wall. It was located discreetly on left side of the building, and it could have be her only way in.

As she strained to lift herself higher and higher, she turned her head ever so slightly... and nearly forgot to flap when she saw what was happening in the town square.

It was almost entirely covered in the thick, black, poisonous-looking vapor, which now hung low over the ground like smoke from a raging wildfire. Fairies were flying around desperately, looking for a way out, but it seemed to trap them inside and slowly obscure all the light from their vision.

And for a brief second, Ribbon thought she saw a strange, golden eye gaze at her from the mass.

She shook her head and it was gone. Hurriedly dismissing it as her mind playing tricks on her, she continued her ascent. In seconds she reached the window. It was just big enough for her to fit through, so she snapped her wings down with surprising force before drawing them in as close as she could to her body and sailing through the small open space, landing on her stomach on the soft, red carpet inside.

She longed to just lay there and fall asleep - the darkness was weakening her, she could feel it. It took every bit of her willpower just to get up. But eventually, she managed to not only do that, but use her wings to propel her exhausted, pattering footsteps as well, giving her additional speed as she ran down the hallway as fast as she possibly could at this point.

The pink haired fairy checked all the rooms as she ran down the straight hallway, and yet there was no sign of the queen. Her face held a look of disbelief as she reached the end of the carpet. If the queen was not up here... she could be anywhere. It could take 'ages' to find her in this enormous castle, and that sort of time Ripple Star simply did not have.

"Ribbon!"

Ribbon whirled around at the sound of the hushed whisper, her disbelief even more apparent at the fact that the queen found _her,_ when in fact she had been intending the opposite. Still, she pushed the thought down.

"Oh, there you are, my queen," she breathed with relief. "I thought I'd never find you in time."

The queen, who was peeking around the entrance to another hallway (Ribbon wondered why she hadn't checked down there), nodded hastily. "Yes. But there 'isn't' any time. Quickly, you must come with me." Her form disappeared around the corner. Ribbon wiped some sweat off her forehead before following at a slightly more sluggish pace.

The hallway she was being lead down turned into a spiral staircase, which spun upward and upward as far as anyone could see. The two fairies didn't focus on this as they climbed, the queen being too intent on reaching the top and Ribbon willing to follow her wherever she needed to go.

After what seemed like an hour, the pair exited the staircase and entered a small dome shaped room. Its smooth brick walls were painted a soothing cream color and supported light pink torch holders. The fires themselves burned an oddly calming green.

The middle of the room housed a metal and stone contraption in the shape of a disc. It covered a good portion of the floor and sported intricate markings on its sides. The center was indented and slightly bowl-like, and the edges glowed with an almost solid light, which suspended a single, giant crystal in the air.

Ribbon let out a short gasp. Even as one of the queen's attendants, she had never personally been in this room. Every fairy knew that the Power Crystal was what had provided Ripple Star with all its energy for generations, and she had seen many pictures of the legendary object, but never had she imagined it to be so... _big._ She had heard that it was definitely a large object, but now, looking at it up close, it was almost twice the size of the queen.

"Ribbon." Said queen's voice brought her out of her slight daze and back to attention. "Y-yes, my lady?"

The larger fairy's expression was solemn. "You are an intelligent fairy," she began seriously, pacing around the metal disk slowly. "I do not doubt that. So you will understand that anything regarding the Crystal at this point is of the utmost importance."

Ribbon gulped and nodded. "Of course, your highness."

The queen acknowledged this and continued slowly walking around the room. "I believe the darkness outside - whatever it may be - is after the Power Crystal."

Ribbon didn't want to believe those words. She knew full well that the Crystal was a thing of unrivaled arcane energy, passed down to fairy kind from ancient beings and sworn to be protected by the fairies. It had been coveted by others in the past, but kept safe from harm. Now, however, thinking back to the dark clouds outside once more, it didn't seem like such a stretch of the imagination to think that it was in serious danger.

"You really think so?"

The queen closed her eyes and nodded grimly, halting in her place. "That's what I fear. And it's why we can't waste another second here." She turned abruptly and forcefully. "Ribbon, you have to take the Crystal and leave Ripple Star."

The smaller fairy was stunned. "M-me?" she eventually stuttered out, eyes widening. "I-I couldn't possibly... there must be someone more qualified..."

"No, Ribbon. There _is_ no one. Look." The spectacled fairy pointed up at the ceiling, where a funnel led up to a blue hatch. The multiple triangular panels slid out of the way to reveal a completely and utterly black sky, the dark fog hanging extremely low over the castle, as if trying to force its way in.

Ribbon gaped upward at the sight. "So... you're telling me... it got everyone else?"

"Exactly." The queen folded her hands and looked down at the ground, almost as if she was fighting an internal battle with herself. "That's why you, and only you, can take the Crystal to safety."

The pink haired fairy thought. What if she was unable to break through the haze? What if there was something lurking in there that nabbed her, or, even worse, the Crystal while she was trying to flee the planet? _How_ would she flee the planet?

No... she had heard what the queen said. She realized that it was her duty to Ripple Star, the least she could do to save it...

With a sudden spurt of bravery, she nodded and said, "I'll do it."

The queen's expression softened with relief. "Oh... thank goodness... I'm glad you're willing to take this risk for all of us." She coughed and straightened her glasses. "Now hurry. You don't have any time to spare."

There was a sudden and extremely loud crash from outside, followed by the floor underneath them shaking fiercely. The queen, who was standing, stumbled as she tried to keep her balance.

Ribbon looked around briefly as small bits of hard dust fell from the ceiling. "But, your majesty, you have to come with me. You can't let them get to you too -"

The castle rumbled even louder, and the shaking caused the queen to trip. Fortunately, she caught herself and went to one knee instead, her wings aiding in the effort. "N-no! Again, there's no time! You have to go by yourself!" With one strong flap downward, she righted herself and took Ribbon's shoulders. "Leave me. I'll be fine. Right now, _you_ have to go."

The smaller fairy looked like she wanted to protest, but her elder cut her off. "I know that as one of my handmaidens it is your duty to protect me, but you must do as I say here! Hang tightly to the Crystal, and take it to safety!"

Ribbon knew she had to give in, and she gave a short sigh. She hovered to the Crystal and gingerly placed one hand on its side. It looked as if it was made of ice, yet was warm and strangely inviting as a freshly washed blanket. She managed to place her other hand and her two legs on it as well, so she was sitting low to its glossy surface.

"My queen," she said, turning her head one last time, "please promise me you'll be careful."

The queen nodded sadly. "Everything will turn out fine eventually." A long violent tremor interrupted her soon after, worse than the others. As the walls of the room began to crack, she yelled, "Quickly! Up, up! And be safe!"

With the utmost determination, Ribbon obeyed. She clutched the Crystal tightly in her hands. She could feel it building up power inside. Suddenly, it shot up through the still open hatch like a rocket, taking her with it in a light speed ascent through the heavy dark cloud.

The mass seemed to shy away from the blazing trail of light the Crystal left behind, Ribbon noted. However, mere seconds after the moment they entered, they were out, floating high above the planet's atmosphere.

When she had thought what was down on the actual planet was bad, she was definitely not expecting to see what it would look like from space. Half of the heart-shaped face was covered in black smoke, which formed a sort of barrier around it as the force pulsated and wormed its way closer toward the ground.

"What would... no..." she whispered in horror. This shouldn't have been happening, this 'couldn't' have been... but, as the Crystal turned itself and soared out into space, putting up a light blue barrier that gave the fairy riding on the inside oxygen to breathe, she realized there was nothing she could do.

Another chanced glance backward moments later soon saved her life. She looked back in sorrow, which soon shifted to pure fear as three orbs of blackness broke off from the main body and began following her, gaining on her surprisingly fast. One after another, they split in the exact middle to reveal frightening golden eyeballs, the exact same kind Ribbon had seen in the square when she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.

Now that was not the case. The eyes were real, and they were _fast._ They were not very far behind as the Crystal carried Ribbon into an asteroid belt full of fairy-sized rocks. Her method of transportation fortunately weaved in and out of the space debris as if it could see for itself. She looked back again as one of the black orbs slammed into - no, burst _through_ - one of the chunks, shattering it by only doing so much as blinking.

So fast were the four traveling that they were out of the belt in seconds; however, the spheres now circled each other as they closed in on Ribbon. The Crystal automatically dodged a charging attack from the one on the top, but was unable to react in time when hit by a similar tackle from the one on the left.

With horror, Ribbon watched a long, ugly crack split down the Crystal's surface as it was sent reeling from the surprisingly powerful blow. It managed to get itself back on course, but it flickered from loss of energy and began losing speed fast. The light around it slowly faded, as did the oxygen barrier it created.

The fairy began to choke slightly from lack of breath as the spheres looked at each other, almost victoriously, before coordinating a final attack at a simultaneous spot. The combined strength of their hits shattered the Crystal upon impact. It scattered into dozens of pieces, sent flying across space by sheer force.

Ribbon managed to cling to but one Crystal shard as she was flung off in a different direction. Well... the orbs didn't seem to be interested in her anymore. They had gone off to look for other parts of the Crystal, apparently... the Crystal she had failed to protect. Nevertheless, she could barely bring herself to think these thoughts as fatigue and lack of oxygen started getting to her. Before she completely lost consciousness, she caught a glimpse of something big and yellow, something that seemed to be growing by the second. It looked like... a big star...

()()()

_Admittedly, this was a bit rushed at the end because I wanted to get it up by tonight, so sorry if it seems a bit lacking because of it. Still, this will be my most important story thus far, and I guarantee it will get much better. (Though you will be pleased to know that it does not mean my other stories are on hold.) Until next time, friends…_


	2. Merciful

_Here I am at last. School has been keeping me busy lately, so add that to my laziness and you get a _waaaaay _overdue chapter of Kirby 64. Also, I'd like to point out that in my fanfics, the anime, Hoshi no Kabii, happened _before_ the games, which would explain why Kirby seems so much weaker and less mature. It's likely that this will have a few anime references in it, so it's good to get that out of the way early on. This is also where my fic starts getting a bit different from the rest. Enjoy._

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Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

Chapter 2: Merciful

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The round pink creature walked serenely through the crisp green grass. His big red feet crunched softly with the light steps he took, the plants pleasantly crackling in a peaceful way. His dark blue eyes, blue as the night sky above, and wide black pupils were looking upward at the stars. Noting what a beautiful night it was, he continued on his way.

_He sure was right,_ Kirby thought to himself as he strolled along. _It really_ is _a good night for stargazing._ A few days ago he had been speaking with his friend Waddle Dee, who had informed him that tonight would be clear and cloudless, and that if one were to look hard enough, they could see nearly every star in Dreamland.

Kirby was no astronomer, but even he could see them stretching from one side of the horizon to the other. The night was thickly dotted with the white sparkles like sequins on an endless strip of fabric, a beautiful sight to the Dreamlanders below.

In particular, the pink puffball was heading toward a favorite spot of his a few miles from his home outside of Cappy Town - a small hill in the middle of the field he was currently traveling through. It was near Waddle Dee's house, and it was again the orange puffball who pointed it out to him. Unlike Kirby, the Dee _was_ an astronomer, mostly studying in the field of stars and constellations. It was from him that Kirby had learned many interesting - and often stellar - things.

In the short time of a few minutes, he was able to finish his walk as he reached the hill, a rounded ten foot protrusion of ground and grass that was fenced in at the edges. It was a popular stargazing spot for many, but surprisingly it was deserted tonight.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that it was about four in the morning, Kirby reminded himself as he yawned. It wasn't exactly a stargazing _night,_ but again, Waddle _had_ said it would be best at this time. Yet, despite having gotten a few hours of sleep before he set out, the puffball was still sluggish.

At least, he was until he looked up. His mouth opened into a perfect "o" at the beauty of the dark blue sky. The stars were sparkling even more brilliantly than before - it seemed that almost any change in altitude made them even brighter. He remembered why this was a favorite spot of his as he walked up to the top of the bump - no difficult task - eyes glued to the heavens the entire time. He took a seat in the middle of the patch of grass across the top as a smile began to form across his face.

Kirby didn't know exactly how long he sat there for, but he was certainly no longer tired. He was instead doing a wonderful job of amusing himself by picking out constellations, something he often did on uneventful nights.

"Hmm... oh, there's the Little Dipper!" he said to himself merrily, pointing with a stubby pink arm. "And there's the Big Dipper not too far away! And that's Orion! And that one's... moving?"

Indeed it was. The little sparkle, barely visible but definitely there, was streaking across the sky, darting through the other balls of light at a swift pace. It left a thin trail behind it. Soon, others were following, adding to the mass of trails that now graced the canopy of the sky.

Kirby found it a bit odd, though. Waddle would have told him if there was going to be a meteor shower. And these were a bit fast for meteors, weren't they? Of course, he knew meteors were _very_ fast, but these just seemed... _faster._

He dismissed it. They were probably just closer to the planet than most meteors got. In fact, he could have sworn he even saw some land in the distance on Pop Star, but he couldn't tell. His eyes focused on the shiny objects as they continued to travel effortlessly through space.

Eventually, the spectacular shower seemed to be slowing. With disappointment, Kirby realized it was probably done for the night. "Well, that was pretty cool," he said to himself. He rocked backward before hopping to his feet, his round body helping the motion. "I just wish Waddle had told me about that meteor shower. I'll have to ask him about it tomorr -"

His words were abruptly cut short by the ground suddenly flying up to meet his face. He indignantly wondered why a slab of earth had come up and smacked him like that, but then he realized it was because he had been knocked over. With an inward chuckle, he rubbed his hand behind his head at his stupidity, feeling a lump as he did so. A shot of soreness spread through his body.

_Yowch. Where did that come from?_ As he righted himself, pushing himself up with his short arms, he mentally asked, _What _hit_ me?_

()()()

Ribbon's eyes barely fluttered open, giving her a blurry view of the landscape. Land... so that piece of the Crystal she had clung to must have been protecting her as she fell through the atmosphere. Which meant that star-shaped object she had seen before was the planet she was currently resting on top of.

She assumed it was a planet, anyway. Her eyes didn't feel like giving her a clear view at the moment, so she just lay down in stillness and waited. She could distinguish the color green - lots of it - and a dark blue void above. She nearly snapped to attention and ran at the last sudden realization, fearing it was the dark cloud from earlier, but slightly closer inspection revealed it to be the night sky - nothing more, nothing less.

As her eyes came into focus, so did her sense of feeling; she was sore all over. The golden eyes from before had really hit her hard... she was reminded of the now shattered Power Crystal. What could she do now? It had been shattered hundreds of thousands of feet above this planet, and the fragments had been sent flying apart into deep space.

She was groggily able to pull back the memories of what the queen had told her. _"Hang tightly to the Crystal, and take it to safety!"_ They began to play over in her head, each passing word reminding her how she had let that... darkness... get away with breaking it. Now it could do whatever it wanted with the Shards the moment it found them.

She couldn't let that happen.

With a grunt, Ribbon pushed herself up, her vision now much clearer and her determination reignited. For the first time, she got a good look at the foreign planet.

It reminded her, to an extent, of her own home of Ripple Star. The grass was a healthy green and crunchy beneath her shoes. The sky above was dark, but not too dark (she now knew the true meaning of the phrase "too dark"), with a bit of light peaking over the horizon. It must have been in the early morning hours here. It had been daytime when she fled Ripple Star, but she didn't exactly know how long she had been out for.

Some of that morning light was glinting off an object, shining in her eyes annoyingly. She squinted and tried to locate the source of the reflection. There was nothing around her, but as she took a step, she kicked something hard.

And... _warm._

It could only have been the singular Crystal Shard she had managed to hold onto on her way down to this planet, which is why it didn't surprise her much to see that it was, in fact, the Shard, sitting silently on the ground right next to her.

The fairy lifted it off the ground and gently caressed the fragment. Despite the original Crystal being violently ripped apart, the Shard seemed to be a near-perfect replica, albeit much smaller. Its glow, which it still possessed in full, was soft and innocent.

Ribbon sighed as her face fell. It was as if the Crystal was reminding her of her failure, saying, _"Nice going, you broke me_ and _you let those guys get away with some of my other fragments. How does that make you feel?"_

"Hey, excuse me, miss?"

Ribbon jumped upon hearing the voice, spinning around quickly as she searched for the source. She held the Crystal close to her chest, half-expecting something to jump out and attack her any second.

"Hey! Over here!"

She turned around once more and made eye contact with a round pink creature, who was waving its arms and calling out to her. His (apparently) voice didn't have anything threatening undertones or words, and it seemed relatively normal, if a bit squeaky. She dismissed the thought of him being a threat, trusting that he wasn't going to attack, at least for the moment.

"I think you dropped this," the creature called from where he was. He bent over, reaching down to the ground, and, to the fairy's shock, picked up none other than a Crystal Shard just like hers, deep purple and blue with a hint of green.

Ribbon looked on in disbelief. "Is that...?" she said mostly to herself. Her wings began to vibrate, lifting her into the air a few inches as she made her way over to the puffball. As she approached, the glow of the Shard in her hands began to increase in intensity, as did the radiance of his.

She stopped about two feet away from him. "W-where did you find that?" she asked, indicating the Shard in his hand (or rather, short arm) with a finger.

"Oh, this? It, uh... well, I think it kinda hit me in the head." He rubbed the back of his head, which doubled as his body, with his other short hand that somehow reached all the way back there. "So how did you get here? I was just sitting here stargazing and then - _wham!"_ He spun in a circle to emphasize the action, briefly revealing a small lump on the back of his skull that Ribbon winced at.

"Are you okay?" she asked with mild concern. "I'm sorry if I fell on you..."

"Oh, so _that's_ what happened..." he muttered to himself, apparently thinking. "But wait, what were you doing up in the sky?"

"It's a long story," Ribbon said, but before she could finish the Crystal in her hands began to vibrate violently and pull forward. The creature's did too, and it nearly knocked him over out of surprise. Both Shards wrenched themselves out of the hands of their holders and came together in midair. A white ball of light enveloped the gems, shrouding them from view. It suddenly disappeared, and the two beings watched as the Shards merged together into a larger piece, finally settling in the middle and retaining its usual glow.

"Huh?" the pink ball simply questioned as he watched the spectacle, completely confused by what was going on.

"The Crystal can fuse itself back together?" Ribbon wondered out loud. Suddenly, a smile spread over her face as joy bubbled up inside her. She zoomed forward and nearly tackled the jewel, flying in giddy circles and embracing its warmth. "Yes! I can still save it!" she squeaked in excitement.

The puffball looked happy for her, though still perplexed. "That's great, but uh... save what?"

Ribbon immediately halted and fell slowly back to the ground, sullen once again. "Well, since you've seen it I guess now you'll want to know..." She swallowed before continuing. "I live on Ripple Star," she started.

"Oh yeah, isn't that the fairy planet or something?" He seemed thoroughly curious, which she found a bit odd. Normally no one would be bothered to hear her stories.

"Yes, but..." She could only point up at a distant object in space, the expression on her face worsening. The ball followed her finger and his eyes locked on a distant sparkle that appeared to be a planet.

"What's wrong with it? I don't see any -" He stopped when the light flickered out for a second. When it reappeared, approximately half of it was covered by blackness. "Oh... I see..."

Ribbon looked away tearfully - it pained her too much to look at it again. She held back the urge to cry and continued. "It was attacked by a dark cloud that started spreading across the planet. I was the only one to escape. It... _consumed_ them, and the queen told me to take the Power Crystal - the artifact that gives energy to all of Ripple Star - and protect it. But..." She looked away shamefully. "Parts of the darkness broke off and chased me through space, and they managed to... shatter the Crystal," she finished quietly, feeling like more of a failure than ever now. A single tear slipped down her cheek.

"Hey, don't cry!" the pink creature comforted. "We managed to put it back together, didn't we?"

"Yes, but..."

"And we can do it again, right?"

"But they all flew through space!" she protested. "I'll never find them!"

"Not by yourself." He smiled cheerily and beat his chest once with a paw. "But with two of us, there's no telling what we can and can't do!"

Wait... was he _actually_ implying that he wanted to _help_ her? No one had ever been so enthusiastic to do that - she was always helping someone else, but she was rarely offered any herself. Was he serious?

She shook her head. "No, you can't. I couldn't ask you to put yourself in danger like that. I barely know you, and I wouldn't want you to be responsible for -"

"Put myself in danger?" he interrupted. "Not me! You may not know it, but I'm Pop Star's resident pink hero!"

So she was on Pop Star, and this pink creature she had become acquainted with was a hero? This was a lot to take in, considering she had just been assaulted by dark clouds not too long ago. "Seriously, you don't have to," she persisted. "I'm completely capable of doing it on my own."

"Of course, of course! I'm not implying you're not, but if you run into trouble you'll need some help."

He posed a good point. "Still, it'd a lot of trouble for you to go to just for my planet. It's not yours, you shouldn't worry about it."

He laughed - a kind, goodhearted noise. "It's fine, I do stuff like this almost every day."

Ribbon's eyes widened at the thought of fighting dark eyeballs every day. "Really?"

"Yup, and it's no trouble at all!" He smiled and began to walk. "My name's Kirby, by the way."

"I'm Ribbon." Ribbon took to the air and followed next to him, her waist about level with the top of his head. "But you're sure -"

"Hey, helping people is what I do for a living. Quite literally, in fact." The two began to go down the hill. "At the very least, I'll be able to help you sweep Pop Star for some more of those Crystals. I know a few places where gems would be... likely to land."

"W-well..." She was almost at a loss for words as she smiled. "Thank you, Kirby."

"No problem, Ribbon. Here, let's head this way." They reached the bottom of the short hill and walked across the field. "First, we should stop by a friend of mine." As they continued on their way towards the horizon, the sun began to rise in a beautiful sea of blue and orange.

An adventure had begun.

But, even as Kirby walked, a thought was nagging him somewhere in the back of his mind.

_A dark cloud spreading across the planet? Hmm... why does that sound so... familiar?_

()()()

A single dark blast easily took out the last guard by the throne room door, exploding right in his face and sending him flying at the wall. The large fairy slammed into it and fell unconscious, slumping down against the floor.

As it slowly began to consume him, the leader looked on, inwardly smirking, towards the doors. He hardly needed to concentrate as another dark burst issued from his body, knocking them brutally from their hinges and causing them to completely dissolve, evaporated by his power.

A dark mass crept up along the walls as he entered the room, an eerie dark blue and black the swallowed up the castle's true colors. He looked around the room. It was wide and high, with finely crafted pillars and designs on the walls, but it was not what he was looking for. He paid it no mind as his darkness covered them, instead turning his attention to the large group of guards that had assembled before him. Their spears, weapons they had infused with some of their magic, were poised and ready to attack.

He merely let out a dark chuckle at their foolishness. "Take them out," he ordered.

Orbs of deep black burst out of the darkness covering the room. There were at least a dozen of them, and faster than the fairies could blink they flew towards the guards and encased them, rendering them helpless and visibly dissolving their spears into nothing inside their black bodies.

"Show them out of here," the leader commanded again. Silently, the orbs exited the room through the doors, their prisoners, already being put to sleep by their sinister powers, in tow.

"Now then..." He turned to the throne, where the queen stood, looking defiant. Black tendrils began inching closer to her, but she stepped away, even kicking one for good measure.

The leader only became more amused. "Good day, my queen," he mocked with a fake bow. "Or," he continued as he came back up, "as I should say: goodnight."

On cue, even more dark orbs flew in through doors, coming to his side instantly. They suddenly slit through the middle to reveal the whites of golden eyes, which all stared down at the queen frighteningly. Despite this, the fairy did not flinch.

"You think you've won," she spat, uncharacteristically bitter. "But, as you know, one of our fairies escaped with the Crystal. You haven't got what you've come for."

"Oh, I do know that." He seemed uninterested, but the tone of his voice betrayed some sick, sadistic sense of enjoyment. "But you should also know that we have sent agents after her. And when Dark Matter hunts, it does not let its prey escape."

The queen looked like she didn't fully believe it, but for a second, her expression faltered. Suddenly, her eyes flashed red and she deadpanned, but it barely lasted a blink of an eye before she returned to normal.

"Hmm?" The leader cocked his head - or rather, _body_ - to the side. "Oh, so you still think you're strong enough to resist." The queen only responded with a grunt, the presence of so much Dark Matter putting some kind of strain on her.

The leader laughed maliciously. "Well then, allow me to help you." With that, the eyes at his side dove straight at the queen and were absorbed into her body. She let out a pained cry and grabbed her head, struggling to drive them out. But alas, the force of the numerous Dark Matter was too strong for even her to bear. Her eyes flashed red once more before they closed and she passed out.

The leader watched this as his darkness finally spread throughout the entire room and headed for the rest of the castle. Now, with the fairies of Ripple Star prisoner and their queen subdued, there was nothing that could go wrong...

Three Dark Matter suddenly rocketed into the room, flying as fast as they could. The one in front stopped abruptly, and the other two bumped into him, forcing him closer to their commander by default.

The one in front looked nervous. "S-sir!"

The leader did not even need to turn around - he had already seen them. "What?" he said coldly.

The single orb gulped. "Th-the fairy with the C-crystal, she..." He gulped, despite lacking a throat.

"Out with it!"

"She escaped!"

He winced. The leader hovered completely motionless for a few long, uncomfortable seconds. Then, without warning, he exploded at them.

"SHE ESCAPED!" he roared. The Dark Matter inched back away from him, trying not to seem too afraid... needless to say, it was an act they could not keep up.

"W-w-w-well, y-yes, s-s-sir," the first one stuttered, his single eye darting around nervously. "We d-did manage to s-s-s-save the Crystal, th-though... by shattering it..." he muttered quietly.

"SHATTERING!" His underlings drew back significantly. "IDIOTS!" He pressed uncomfortably close to the first Dark Matter, backing him up until he was against a wall. "Did you not have three - _three_ - Dark Matter pursuing the Power Crystal and yet you _failed?"_ he bellowed.

The Dark Matter merely whimpered in response.

The leader growled. "Consider yourself fortunate that I am _merciful_ enough to revive you later."

The orb caught the meaning of this instantly, but before he could even think of protesting, an enormous pillar of fire slammed into him, crushing him against the wall and incinerating him completely.

With that done, the leader turned to the other two offenders, who were quivering violently. "Now... tell me why I shouldn't destroy both of you _right now."_ One of them was shaking so badly he couldn't respond, but the other fearfully piped up, "We know where the Crystal Shards are!"

The leader paused from charging another attack. "Oh? You do?" he questioned, his tone a bit more calmed.

"We do?" the more frightened Dark Matter sighed in disbelief.

"Y-yeah! It split into, um, uh..."

"Seventy four!" the second recalled.

"Yeah, seventy four pieces! And they flew to the planets, um, Pop Star, Rock Star, Aqua Star, Neo Star, and Shiver Star! A-and some landed here on Ripple Star!"

The leader thought about this. "Hmm, although we need the Crystal intact, this turn of events could prove... interesting." He returned to his underlings. "Scout the planets for Crystal Shards. Take a squadron with you if you must, but do it immediately."

"B-but sir, what about Rock Star?"

He suddenly scowled again, which made the second Dark Matter flinch. The first, who had been speaking, however, continued. "Don't we have to worry about -?"

_"He_ is preoccupied," the leader spat. "He is being held down by our other forces. As for Pop Star..." He turned. "Beware the pink hero. As it has come to my knowledge, he has stopped us twice before."

The Dark Matter duo nodded fearfully. "Sir!" they saluted, before they both rushed off, glad to have made it out of there alive.

Once they were gone, the leader's many red eyes fell on the queen's motionless body in a blank stare as he chuckled. "Yes, pink hero," he mused. "This should be _very_ interesting."

()()()

_Again, I'm lazy, and school's been eating my time like midmorning brunch on Sunday. I also, _once again, _rushed a bit to get the chap up by today. Not to mention a bit of writer's block thrown in there. Oh well. I'll be back next week, I hope (this will be my main story from now on). Ciao._


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